Micah Parsons is looking less and less likely to suit up when the Green Bay Packers meet the Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 18.
Parsons had already made clear before the 2026 season that he wanted to be on the field for that Week 6 game against his former team. But on Monday afternoon, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Packers “are not anticipating” Parsons will return to practice before the “Sunday Night Football” matchup.
That update comes as Parsons continues working back from the torn ACL he suffered last December. He has spent the season so far on the physically unable to perform list.
The Cowboys storyline around Parsons has been messy for a while. He spent much of the summer of 2025 locked in a tense contract dispute with Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones. Then, in August of that year, Dallas dealt him to Green Bay, where he signed a four-year, $188M contract that included $136M guaranteed.
Green Bay has felt his absence. Parsons led the Packers last season with 12.5 sacks in 14 games before the injury ended his year.
And while this Week 6 trip to Dallas may no longer have the Parsons angle it once promised, the Packers would still love to have him against a Cowboys offense that has been rolling. ESPN stats had Dallas seventh in the league on Monday with 27.6 points scored per game.
There is still at least some hope that Parsons’ return won’t be too far off. Back on Oct.
3, NFL insider Tom Pelissero of The Ringer and Netflix reported that Parsons might not be ready for game action until sometime in November. Schefter’s Monday update was a little more optimistic, saying the Packers have “hope” he can return “sometime this month.”
Green Bay’s schedule after the Dallas game includes a road trip to face the Detroit Lions on Oct. 25 and then a home game against the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 29 on “Thursday Night Football.”
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